The Wolf Sings to the Stars Above
by ImagingThings
Summary: Young Yun is different from her tribesmates, everyone knows that. Sometimes being different is a good thing.


"Where do you think you're going?" Urda asked the girl who quickly headed towards the entrance to the lodge.

"Out to watch the stars."

"Yun." The temporary chieftess of the Go-Backs went over to the girl. "You can't watch the stars right now, there's a blizzard outside. You'd just get lost. Look." Urda opened the flap to the lodge, revealing the white mass of snow whirling around outside.

"Oh… so the howling outside means we can't go out." Yun said disappointed, before leaning outside and letting out an ear-piercing howl.

"YUN!" Jirda yelled from inside the lodge, spooked by Yun's howling. "Don't you think there's enough noise outside without you starting?"

"Sorry, Jirda." Yun said, following Urda back inside the lodge. "I forgot you're afraid of the storm."

"Am not."

"Yes you are. But there's nothing wrong with that." The two girls began the important, but very tedious, task of rubbing their skin clothes with animal fat so it would remain soft and waterproof; it was a task all Go-Back children were expected to do themselves as soon as they were able to. Eventually Chot came over and joined them, and the inevitable happened:

"Can't believe you tried to watch the stars." Chot began, his voice jeering. "What kind of Go-Back doesn't know that you can't see the stars when there's a blizzard? No, let me rephrase that; what kind of Go-Back even cars about the stars? Except, you're not a real Go-Back, are you?"

Most Go-Backs didn't know who had sired them, nor did they really care. After all parents only played a role in their lives for a short while. With Yun, though, things were different; she hadn't been very old before her mannerisms made it rather clear that she had been sired by one of the Wolfriders, the silver-haired stargazer judging by her love of the stars. Even though she considered herself a Go-Back through and through Urda knew that Yun still sometimes felt insecure about her wolf blood, about how it somehow made her different from the rest.

"Go away, Chot." Yun said angrily. "You smell worse than this bear fat."

It was true; even across the room Urda could smell it. She could easily imagine how bad it would be for someone sitting right next to Chot, especially someone with Yun's sensitive nose. True having to stay inside the lodge for extended periods during the white cold meant that everyone ended up smelling rather unpleasantly. However, where most of the tribe members took a chance every now and then to be cleaned a bit, Chot never seemed to take interest in any 'personal maintenance' task that didn't involve sleeping or eating.

The blizzard lasted three whole days, when it was finally over everyone was about to go crazy from being indoors, and ready to let the snow clean their sweat-soaked bodies. Everyone, that is, except Chot.

"You do that. I'll just stay in here and… keep an eye on the food."

Urda was about to tell him that he had no choice this time when she noticed Yun and Jirda sending each other some rather wicked glances. Quickly, before Chot could react, the girls had seized him and dragged him towards the entrance. Laughing some of the other children joined in, even Kiv, who was really far too old to be considered a child. As soon as everyone was outside they tore their clothes off – Kiv holding down Chot while some of the others undressed him – and began rolling around in the fresh snow, cleaning the days of being trapped inside off their aching bodies. They also washed their clothes with snow and hung them to dry next to the great fire; meanwhile everyone wrapped whatever they could find of bed furs around themselves.

Suddenly Yun bolted upwards, sniffing her nose in the air around her. "What's that smell?" she asked.

"Not me." Came Chot's reply.

"I know that. I think… URDA! I think there's a bear nearby!"

In no time the Lodge erupted with activity, none of the Go-Backs were afraid of bears – they were a natural part of life in the Frozen Mountains – but one during the middle of the white cold could prove exceptionally dangerous both to the elves, and to the stags. Everyone ran around between each other searching for their clothes and soon the hunting party was ready to go.

"Where do you think you're going?" Urda asked the girl who quickly followed the hunters to the entrance to the lodge.

"I have to come with you; I'm the only one who can scent the bear."

It was true, Urda had to admit it; this hunt, happening solely because one girl with a keener nose than the rest of them would have a greater chance for success if said girl accompanied them on the hunt.

"Yun. Are you sure you could scent a bear?" Vok asked they had been scouting the area for most of the day without seeing so much as the footprints of a bear. Now it was starting to get dark and they had to make a decision of whether they would continue the hunt for a little while longer, or return to the lodge and let bear be bear.

"I don't know. Maybe it was just something I dreamt, maybe it really _was _Chot." She paused for a moment, looking up at the clear sky where stars, one by one, were starting to come out. "But I don't think it was. I _did _scent a bear, but maybe it's gone off somewhere else, or has simply gone back into its cave to await the new green."

"I believe you." Urda said, placing a light hand on Yun's shoulder. "Your wolf nose could probably smell a bear from very far off, if the wind was in the right direction."

She had barely said it before the air shook with a terrible growling, and a flash of white came thundering towards the small hunting party.

"Yun! Get to safety." Urda yelled, before turning to face the great beast with the rest of the hunters. Somehow, they'd managed to stay upwind from the bear the entire day, so that while they had thought they'd been the hunters it had been able to get close to them without being scented. With terrible force it raced towards them and because Roff was just a tiny fragment of a second too slow it rammed straight into him, sending him flying down the mountainside. Wasting no time to see if their tribes mate was hurt or not the rest of the hunters quickly sent their spears into the sides of the great beast in order to finish it off. However, being enraged both from hunger and from the several spears, poking out of its sides gave the bear extra strength, and now the hunters were all weapon less.

"We're idiots!" Vok cursed, as he had to quickly jump out of reach of the blood-crazed bear. "What kind of hunting party all let their weapons go at the same time? And what kind of Go-Backs don't know that a bear that's awake during the middle of white cold is exceptionally dangerous?"

Nobody gave him any reply; they were all rather busy trying to avoid being killed. They were all so focused on the bear that they didn't notice the young girl who carefully climbed down from her safety spot, as quickly as possible she went over to the still unconscious Roff and took the knife from his belt, while at the same time making sure he was still breathing. Holding the knife with both hands – it was almost like one of Two-Edge's troll swords to her – she made her way back towards the fight and hid in a crevice she'd noticed between two rocks.

"OOOOOOWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Titling her head backwards, she let out a howl loud enough to be heard a long distance away, the rocks she was standing between making the sound echo. Hearing it the bear turned and raced towards her and since it was unable to get between the rocks, it jumped to the top of them, in order to try to reach her from the top. This was exactly what Yun had hoped for; as the bear stuck its great paws down between the rocks she quickly darted out of reach and stabbed the knife upwards and into its exposed belly. The wound didn't kill the bear but it made it slump down long enough to let Vok take out his knife and deliver the killing blow without risk.

"How did you know that would work?" Urda asked they were one their way back to the lodge Vok and Cheider dragging the bear after them and Urda supporting Roff, who was still a bit dazed from the blow to his head.

"I didn't really. I just tried to think like a wolf, being swift and sneaky rather than using brute force." Once again, she titled her head backwards and let out a howl.

"Well, little wolf cub, let's get this bear back to the lodge and tell everyone we have a new hunter in the tribe."

However, they hadn't made it far before a new hunting party lead by Mardu made its way towards them.

"Will you believe it?" Mardu said, "First a bear – glad you got it – and now wolves! We heard one only a few moments ago."

For a few moments, the first hunting party stood bewildered, and then Cheider let out a roaring laughter.

"Mardu." He gasped, "There are no wolves!"

"Yes, there are!" Kiv replied. We heard them, or it, not sure how many there are."

"Have you forgotten that we have a little Wolfrider in our tribe now?" Urda smiled, and finally did the truth dawn upon the second hunting party. Under much laughter, they made their way back to the lodge, being now twice as many as before to drag the bear.

The rest of the tribe was eagerly awaiting their return with the bear, the thought of a feast consisting of fresh bear meat was enough to make everyone's mouths water after the long dark days spent inside the lodge living on nothing but dried meat.

"Did you chase the wolf away?" Jirda asked.

"No." replied Kiv, "We caught it." With those words, he picked Yun up by her legs and tossed her headfirst into a big pile of snow.

"Should've known!" Chot said, "She'll never be a prober Go-Back. The wolf blood is making her loopy."

"Is it?" Yun had carefully gotten up from the snow pile and was now starring at Chot with cold disdain in her eyes. "We wouldn't have known about this bear if it hadn't been for my wolf senses, and we wouldn't have caught it if I hadn't decided to try and think like a Wolfrider, rather than as a Go-Back. Whoever said I wanted to be a prober Go-Back? I don't, I don't need to. I am Yun, half Go-Back, and half Wolfrider."


End file.
